China’s week of forums a reminder of how quickly things can change

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China’s week of forums a reminder of how quickly things can change

“The East is rising and the West is declining.”

This notion, often obliquely referenced by President Xi Jinping, has resonated among Chinese academics, particularly since the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Over the past week, two high-level forums held in China seemed designed to make the case for it.

On Sunday, more than 80 heads of leading multinationals like Apple, BMW and Ikea – along with chiefs of international organisations and prominent global scholars – attended the China Development Forum in Beijing.

In the keynote address, Premier Li Qiang delivered a clear thesis on behalf of his country: we should work together to resist the United States’ protectionism and safeguard globalisation.

Not long after, many at this forum hopped onto planes bound for the southern island province of Hainan, where they would take part in another. At the Boao Forum for Asia, they shared their optimism for China’s rising role in the global stage, as well as their disappointment in the US’ retreat from global institutions.

One was Oxford University economist Ian Goldin, who was present in Beijing as well as Boao. “People don’t want to go to a conference in the US any more since Trump,” he said. “Because there are issues on visas, and they’re getting stopped at the borders and asked questions.”

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